The Other Guys
by Sir Cameron Dragic
Summary: A story focusing on Team JNPR. Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren must come together to fight an enemy that is much greater than anything they could have expected before coming to Beacon. Along the way, each of them must learn to grow into their rightful roles, if they are to survive the journey ahead of them.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Pyrrha Nikos was a girl who knew what she wanted.

She had wanted to become a Huntress since she was a child, and thus, she had trained her ass off for years until she had become the strongest girl in all of Mistral, something that culminated in her four consecutive victories in the annual Mistral Tournament. Well, domination was more apt, given that she had outpaced all of her competition easily in each year. If anything, she felt that she could have used a bit more of a challenge than the single Grim that existed as the final task.

Seriously? One lousy Grim? When she had found out that the other competitors had struggled in their respective fights however, she did feel a little bit assuaged. She supposed that, for the normal person, defeating even one Grim was quite a feat, and that she had just trained herself exceptionally well.

Then, she had wanted to become a student at Beacon Academy, and instantly, her wish was granted, and she was bumped to the very top of the priority list for her past actions and the fact that she was a worldwide celebrity. It turns out that being famous did have its perks from time to time.

But right now, she wanted something more than anything else she had ever wanted before. Actually, to be correct, it wasn't something, but someone.

Juane Arc was such a nice and funny boy. Sure, he was a bit on the helpless side, but she found that charming. And the way that he tried to act so tough when he obviously wasn't, well, it never ceased to bring a smile to her face. After years of being approached by men who knew her only as the celebrity on the cover of Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes, which admittedly, was not as good a cereal as it sounded, it was a breath of fresh air to find someone who had no idea who she was.

Plus, he had a laughably adorable pair of pajamas. Not that she had been staring at him at night or anything. It just so happened that he had been walking by to talk to Weiss, and he had been proudly displaying his one piece sleepwear, along with its accompanying bunny slippers. Right then and there, she had decided that he was the one for her.

It took a tremendous amount of courage to wear something so childish with so much brazen disregard for the opinions of his peers. Even she doubted that she could have done something like that with absolutely no shame. Yes, he certainly was a real man, even if his social ineptitude betrayed him at times.

And that fact was the exact reason why she was currently following him like a lovesick puppy through the forest.

"So, Jaune, where exactly is this Grim nest that we were supposed to have found hours ago?" An orange haired girl asked loudly, dragging her exhausted feet with exaggerated difficulty. Her name was Nora Valkyrie, also known as the third member of Team Juniper, of which Pyrrha was proud to say that she was also a member. The normally bubbly girl was now cranky at the lack of progress, and understandably so. As their self-appointed leader, Juane had decided that he was going to lead the way for their group on the mission that Headmaster Ozpin had assigned them for the time being. And right now, Pyrrha was sure that they were passing by the same tree that they had seen three times already this hour.

"Maybe I should take a look at the map?" Lie Ren, the fourth and final member of their team suggested helpfully from his position at the back of their small entourage, where he covered their rear while also occasionally providing words to fill in the blanks that Juane often drew. In all honesty, he was probably the most qualified to be leader, aside from Pyrrha herself, but he wasn't really the type to lead. He was the type who preferred to keep his distance and help from the background, more than anything.

"I'm sure Juane knows exactly what he's doing, right?" Pyrrha said hopefully, eagerly awaiting his reply. She had no lack of faith in whatever non-existent orienteering skills Juane was supposed to possess.

The blonde haired teenager who was the acting leader of this team scratched his head sheepishly as he nodded weakly, "Yeah, of course."

Rolling her eyes in helpless frustration, Nora slowed down her pace so that she could chat with Ren, her childhood friend and appointed partner for life. If Ren had shown any aversion to the idea, he did a darn good job of hiding it, although Pyrrha seriously doubted that Nora would be able to sit still long enough to really notice any nuances in his expressions.

Meanwhile, she gently and discreetly righted the map in Juane's hand, which had been upside down for the past hour. After they had taken a break for lunch, he must have had picked it up incorrectly and hence, had been leading them in the wrong direction, an honest mistake. Not that she minded the excuse to spend more time with Juane.

"Oh, thanks." He whispered, embarrassment in his tone.

"Don't worry, it happens to the best of us." Pyrrha whispered back, making sure that Nora did not hear them. She doubted that Ren really would have cared, as mellow as he was about most affairs, but Nora definitely would have smashed Juane with her hammer, if she didn't annihilate him with her grenade launcher first, that is.

"All right guys, let's take a right!" Juane declared loudly, following through on his own order while Pyrrha obediently heeded his command and Nora dragged a visibly distressed Ren along eagerly as he was forced to listen to more of her ramblings. He made a show of puffing his chest out and taking longer strides, and effort that only made him look foolish, although Pyrrha simply smiled and enjoyed the sight while it lasted.

"How was that? My dad always told me that raising my voice would add some authority to what I'm saying." He asked as he gave up on the strut and returned to his normal style of meekly walking.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I thought it was pretty good."

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" He muttered to himself, holding his head up a little higher as he did so.

Pyrrha clandestinely smiled from her position at his side. It was nice to see Juane have a little more confidence. Heaven knew that he could use it.

* * *

"All right, this is it!" Juane announced, again in a loud voice as they approached the opening of a cave.

"Good job." Pyrrha said, patting his shoulder, "I knew you could do it."

"Okay, so are we going to come up with a plan before we head inside?" Ren suggested as he and Nora brought up the rear, cutting off the girl in mid babble.

"Um, okay, I'll take the front then, I guess." Juane mumbled.

"Well, why don't I take the lead on this one? I'll go first to get an idea of the enemy's strength, and then we can move from there." Pyrrha intervened, seeing the skeptical expressions that Nora and Ren had in response to Juane's proposal. It was clear that they still had a while before they were going have complete faith in their leader like she already did, and so this was probably going to be the best solution that they were going to come up with for the time being.

And with that, she pulled out her Xiflelin and shield, opting to transform her weapon into its rifle form. Finding no complaints with the arrangement, Ren slipped out his Jade Dragons from underneath his sleeves, holding them in a manner similar to a pair of Tonfas, while Nora pulled out Mjolnir, choosing to leave it in its grenade launcher form. For his part, Juane awkwardly pulled out his sword and shield, the most decidedly ordinary weapons of the bunch.

Pyrrha lost no time in advancing, eye aiming down the scope of her hunting rifle as she stepped into the dimly lit interior of the Grim nest. Strafing forwards, she was relieved to find that the cave was relatively small, with the entrance leading into a main chamber that was lit by a large hole in the ceiling, shining light on the mass gathering of Beowolves within.

She heard Juane whimper slightly and immediately silenced him with a wag of her finger. They could not reveal their location now, not when they still had the element of surprise on their side. Her gaze panned over the entirety of the nest and she grimaced at what she saw. There were easily fifty Beowolves inside, and that was before even considering the den mother that was comfortably twice the size of any of the normal variety.

"So, how do you propose we handle this?" Ren asked softly, and to her surprise, it was Jaune who spoke first. Well, she shouldn't say that. If anything, it was something that she had come to somewhat expect from him. Although he wasn't confident about it, he had proven to be a surprisingly competent strategist in the initiation, and in the last few assignments, creating plans that even Ren had no problem following behind.

"We can't afford to be put into a defensive position right now. They'll overrun us if we do. We need to strike quickly with our ranged weapons and use any sort of confusion to our advantage." Jaune outlined with his finger, "Or at least, that's what I would guess."

Acknowledging his words, Pyrrha aimed down her sights once more, finding the head of an unassuming Beowolf. Exhaling deeply, she calmly steadied her rifle with the assured movements of a trained veteran of firearms and pulled the trigger. The crack of her rifle reverberated throughout the nest and the recoil, heavy enough to break the arm of someone unprepared for it, pushed her back a few inches as the bullet sang through the air in a perfect line towards the forehead of the Grim, blasting its head wide open and sending its now decapitated form to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Wasting no time, Nora rapidly fired off a successive series of shots, a flurry of grenades flying through the air before they landed at the feet of several confused Beowolves.

"Three, two, one." She counted with increasing anticipation. On cue, each of the grenades exploded, sending shrapnel flying in all directions, instantly killing all of the Grim in the immediate vicinity, the loose metal tearing through the flesh of the lycanthropes like they were tissue paper.

Pandemonium erupted, and the Beowolves immediately honed in on the source of the attacks, wasting no time in charging forward to meet the small team, their powerful legs propelling them forward at incredible speed and gangly arms swinging wildly at their opponents.

Pyrrha grinned as she felt the familiar sensation of blood rushing through her veins and her heart hammering in her chest from the adrenaline coursing through her body. Her ears could only hear the thud of her heartbeat, and her eyes experienced an amplification in the intensity of the colors in front of her. Her hands trembled with excitement, even as she willed them to stop so that she could steady her rifle, quickly firing off two more shots and sending two more Beowolves to the ground.

However, it would not be enough to simply try to pick off a few creatures from the horde crashing upon them like a wave, and Pyrrha knew it. She managed one final shot that found its target and flipped her rifle into the air, affording it a few seconds to transform into a Xiphos before it returned to her hand to accompany her shield. Spinning the blade once in her hand, she allowed a Beowolf to approach her, its rancid breath causing her to crinkle her nose in disgust. The monster reached forward in an effort to wrap her up in an inescapable grip, but she utilized its wild movements to her advantage by ducking underneath its gargantuan arms and stabbing forward, her blade sinking into the soft flesh of the Beowolf's underbelly.

The Grim howled in pain as she continued on her path, cutting through the rest of its torso without much difficulty, given her equal amount of strength. Immediately, she focused her efforts on the next one to approach her, deciding to take the initiative this time around. She led with her shield, smashing it into its skulls, momentarily stunning the creature long enough for her to slash its throat with her Xiphos.

She glanced off to the side to watch her teammates in action as she found a moment of respite in the heat of the battlefield.

Nora was having no problem crashing her way through the crowd of Beowolves, sending all sort of enemies flying in all directions with her hammer, which was crackling with electricity provided by a Dust Crystal embedded in its handle. Ren was similarly having an easy go of things, with most Beowolves proving no match for his superior speed, which allowed him to easily maneuver around them and pepper them with shots from his submachine guns, or similarly cut them down with his bladed Tonfas.

In fact, the only person who seemed to be having any sort of struggle was Jaune, who desperately fending off three Grim at the same time, trying to juggle his attention from opponent to opponent. Instinctively, Pyrrha abandoned her original course and sprinted towards him, leaping into the air and using her momentum to land atop of one of the Beowolves pestering Jaune. With a ferocious roar, she pointed her Xiphos downwards and driving the sword into the monster's back.

Taking advantage of the new distraction, Jaune swung his sword into the shoulder of the closest Grim, straining to cut through the sinewy muscles that the creature possessed. Realizing that he wasn't going be able to pull out before he was assaulted by another, he strained for a solution. In a moment of clarity, he took his shield and thrust it into the Beowolf, the force of the impact sending it reeling while Jaune's sword was freed from its shoulder, affording him enough room to ram the blade into its chest and finally killing the monster.

His head swiveled to see Pyrrha easily dispatching of another Beowolf, just as one snuck up behind her while she was occupied, unaware of the looming threat inches away from her.

"Pyrrha!" He screamed out, launching himself at the creature in an attempt to disrupt its attack.

Jaune gritted his teeth in pain as his body collided with the Beowolf, sending them both tumbling to the ground, just as Pyrrha turned at the sound of his voice. Noticing that the Beowolf was already in the motion of getting to its feet, she wasted no time in stomping on its throat and rapidly switching her weapon to its rifle form, allowing her a point blank shot. The creature struggled for a moment before all movement ceased, a result of its head being blown off.

"Thanks." He breathed, taking Pyrrha's hand and allowing her to pull him up to her feet. He didn't know how, but somehow, she still seemed immaculate, even in the heat of battle. From the looks of it, she had been completely unscathed so far, and any blood on her armor was clearly from the amount of Beowolves she had killed. Frankly, it made Jaune feel a bit inadequate to know that he had only just scored his first kill while Pyrrha had been tearing through the crowd with ease.

"Good job." Pyrrha replied, nodding to the dead monster, "I would have been caught off guard by it."

"It's no problem." Jaune said sheepishly.

Pyrrha couldn't stop the grin that came to her face. This was another reason why she thought that Jaune was so special. He would just recklessly throw himself at the enemy for the sake of others, even if it meant certain destruction for him. Of course, he would never take credit for it, but there was still the fact that he possessed the qualities of a great leader. He just needed someone to help bring it out. Maybe it would be a certain someone who had won the Mistral Tournament four years in a row?

"That's the last of them." Nora said as she pounded a Grim in the head with Mjolnir, crushing the poor creature's head without any difficulty or strain on her part. Ren, wincing slightly at the way that his friend had so easily dispatched of it, made a mental note to never let her bring her hammer out when she was excited around him.

"All right then, let's handle the den mother." Pyrrha suggested, managing to tear her eyes away from Jaune, who was predictably unaware of the fact that she had been staring at him.

The four of them strode up together to the massive creature, which was currently eyeing them with extreme disdain. It was a hulking thing, with massive bony structures protruding from all angles of her body, making it almost a demonic vision with its long arms, black fur, and piercing red eyes.

"Samael will kill you for this, you know." The creature hissed, surprising the team with its use of English.

"Wait, it can talk?" Nora asked with a gaping mouth, shocked at the revelation.

"Who is this Samael?" Pyrrha demanded, stepping forward with her weapon in javelin form.

The den mother offered no explanation and instead, punched forward, nearly catching a surprised Nora, if not for Ren, who quickly flung her to the ground and dove on top of her in an effort to shield her from the attack. Jaune found that, in that instant, his limbs refused to move even an inch as the monster roared in anger. It was almost as if he were frozen in place, helpless to do anything but watch as his friends struggled to fight without him.

Pyrrha reared back, tossing forward the javelin, just as the rifle went off, only helping to propel the projectile forward. The javelin sailed into the den mother's leg, causing the creature to flinch slightly in pain and clutch its now bleeding leg in agony. Wasting no time, Pyrrha leapt forward, climbing up the monster's leg until she reached her javelin, which she pulled out to use once more, quickly taking aim at the exposed neck of the den mother. With a grunt of effort, she contorted her body so that it would be in a position to throw and using all of her strength, fired the javelin forward so that it perfectly caught in the crook between the Grim's neck and head.

With one final screech of defeat, the den mother collapsed backward, slain by Pyrrha's Xiflelin. The red haired girl hopped off of the carcass and strolled over to pull out her weapon from the dead creature's neck. As he watched the Grim's demise, Jaune's senses returned to him and he immediately shook his head before rushing up to Ren and Nora, who were still on top of each other on the ground.

"Nora, Ren, are you two okay?" Jaune asked, helping his teammates to their feet.

"Oh, yeah, of course!" Nora replied quickly, a small blush on her face from her close contact with Ren.

Meanwhile, Ren merely shrugged and proceeded to sheath his Jade Dragons into his sleeves, "I'm fine too."

"Still, what was it that the den mother said? Something about a Samael?" Pyrrha muttered as she rejoined the group, her weapon also safely tucked away.

"Maybe we should worry about this back at Beacon. First, we should report back to Headmaster Ozpin about the status of the mission." Ren offered helpfully.

He and Nora walked off ahead, both just about ready to finish the mission and forget about their awkward encounter.

Just as Pyrrha was about to follow them, she noticed Jaune still standing in place, a forlorn expression on his face. She approached him carefully, noticing that he was looking down at his hands.

"I can't believe that I just stood there while you guys did the fighting." He sighed, shaking his head self deprecatingly.

"Well, you did kill one Beowolf back there, right? And I thought that you did a good job of being loud with the directions." Pyrrha offered, doing her best to console him.

"Yeah, I guess." He spoke softly, not at all convinced by her words.

"Come on. You're improving, even if it's just little by little. Pretty soon, you'll be the one with the statue." She insisted, grabbing his wrist.

She smiled sweetly, "Let's go. Ren and Nora are waiting for us."

Jaune nodded, finding that he couldn't stay negative, not with Pyrrha trying so hard to cheer him up.

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

**Damn, RWBY is a good show. And I just have to say, they make it way too easy to ship Pyrrha and Jaune. Anyways, I'm sure that there will be a ton of stories focusing on Team RWBY, and not enough for Team JNPR, or whatever their final name will be, so I figured that I should try and write a story from their point of view, since they look like an intriguing team, all the same.**

**If you guys want to see more, please review or send me a PM. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks a lot to everyone who reviewed last time, I really appreciate it!**

* * *

Chapter 2

Jaune gritted his teeth in frustration as he attempted to parry strike after strike, each one of them powerful enough to deliver a bone-crushing blow to his admittedly weak physique. His arms were sore, and begging for a break from the pounding they were enduring, but he had no choice but to press on, moving his blade in tandem with the oncoming attacks, sparks flying as metal met metal. However, despite his best efforts, he knew that he was being pushed backwards, and that it wouldn't be long until he was pushed to the wall. At this, his foot suddenly caught on the ground and he stumbled back, giving his opponent just enough time to take advantage of his lapse and bring down their sword upon him.

"Hey Jaune, do you remember what I told you about using your aura?" Pyrrha asked as she stopped her Xiphos short, inches away from cleaving Jaune cleanly in half while the blond had desperately put up his shield in an effort to block her. Deciding against continuing on, she retracted her sword and sheathed the blade, allowing Jaune to get to his feet.

"Yeah. I guess I just forgot." He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. She could instantly see the change in body language. His shoulders were slumped and his head was dipped slightly downwards, indicating his disappointment in himself.

Pyrrha wiped a bead of sweat off of her brow and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry. That's why we're out here training."

"Well, wouldn't you rather go train with Ren or something? I'm not exactly the best competition for you." Jaune replied bitterly, forcibly shoving her hand away. He didn't articulate it, but it was clear to her to that he was angry at her as much as he was at himself.

She knew that he was trying as hard as anyone else at Beacon, and it was admirable to see someone trying to improve himself as much as Jaune was. Even now, he was already light years ahead of the wide eyed and naïve boy who had vomited on the airship on the first day here, but he still had a long way to go. But she knew exactly how frustrating it was to fail, even to the most driven of people.

She didn't get to where she was now without some serious training accidents and defeats along the way, and each one was a stab to the heart that gnawed away at her resolve time and time again. She had been in Jaune's position countless times before, and she knew exactly how it felt. The self imposed isolation, the endless self critiquing, the doubt that crept up within the mind, they were all familiar sensations to her. It was up to the individual to fight back against those thoughts and to persevere, and she knew that Jaune had a stronger mentality than most.

Pyrrha watched as Jaune stalked off angrily, his voice softly muttering curses at himself. A part of her wanted to catch up to him, pull him into a hug, and whisper into his ear that it was all going to be okay, but her better judgment held her back. If he was going to become a true leader, then this was something that he would have to overcome on his own.

"Well, Pyrrha, it looks like Mr. Confidence is going off on his own again. Shouldn't we go after him?" Nora asked, she and Ren both pausing in the middle of their sparring once they noticed what was going on. Although she wasn't always outwardly Jaune's biggest supporter, Nora saw as much as Ren and Pyrrha did that he had serious potential, if only based off of his heritage, and she knew that if their team was going to go anywhere, it would have to be under his leadership.

"He just needs some time alone." Ren answered, vocalizing Pyrrha's thoughts, giving her a glance that informed her that he knew exactly what she was thinking. Over the past few months that they had spent together as a team, Pyrrha had discovered a reliable man in Ren, who consistently followed her style of thinking in most situations. Sure, the two of them would never be as close as Ren was to Nora, but it was nice to know that there was some common ground between them.

"All right, I guess you two know what you're doing." Nora said with a slight hint of jealousy at the fact that Ren had just silently communicated with Pyrrha instead of her. She grabbed Ren's hand and pulled him away, "Come on, let's go take a shower. But not together," She quickly added, "Unless you want to."

Pyrrha took one final look at Jaune's retreating figure before she bit her lip and decided that some lunch would get her mind off of the topic.

* * *

"So, Pyrrha, how are you enjoying your time with Jaune?" Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and a current member of Team Ruby, the so-called "All Star Team" of Beacon Academy's first year students, asked haughtily as Pyrrha sat down beside her in the cafeteria. The silver haired beauty stabbed a fork into her salad and daintily nibbled at a few green leaves that she had managed to pierce.

"He's really coming along, even if he doesn't know it yet." Pyrrha replied, turning her attention to her own lunch, a hearty plate loaded with an assortment of meats and vegetables, resting on a bed of pasta. She usually ended up consuming a lot more than the average girl, due to her high level of physical activity, so she wasn't exactly worried about gaining weight from it, although she saw Weiss cringe slightly in disgust as she shoveled a spoonful of pasta into her mouth.

A blonde with a pair of black fingerless gloves paired with an orange scarf laughed at her comment, "Yep, sounds like Jaune."

Yang Xiao Long was also a member of Team Ruby, and incidentally, she was also the older sister to the team's namesake, the young girl dressed in red and black sitting across from Pyrrha, Ruby Rose. Pyrrha respected both of the girls as combatants, especially Ruby, considering the girl's young age. Not to mention, the way that Ruby often salivated over her Xifilen was a bit flattering. That wasn't to demean Yang in any way, however. Yang was equally impressive as a fighter, perhaps even more so due to her significantly higher level of strength and control of her aura.

Pyrrha had no idea who taught the two sisters how to fight, but evidently, whoever it was, they did a great job, because Yang and Ruby alone were turning heads among most of the upperclassmen, although Team Juniper wasn't far behind with Ren and herself at the forefront of most conversations. Of course, in her opinion, their team succeeded more so as a product of their teamwork and willingness to listen to each other over any sort of brute strength, but most people didn't understand how vital communication was within their team.

The final member of Team Ruby, a mysterious girl with flowing black hair and a taciturn expression, Blake Belladonna, merely nodded along, a rare smile finding its way to her face, although it was shielded from the rest of the occupants of the table by her book. Pyrrha didn't know much about the girl, aside from the fact that she was aloof to most of her fellow students, and that apparently, she was quite possibly the most fearsome out of all of the girls at the table, although that fact wasn't well known. If not for the fact that she spoke to Weiss and Ruby regularly, she would have made the mistake of assuming that Blake was simply a bookworm, which could not have been farther from the truth.

"Well, I would say that there are still spots open on our team if you were getting tired of him, but unfortunately, all of our slots are filled." Weiss said, giving Ruby a pointed look that was a thinly veiled jab that the younger girl did not miss, choosing to shoot an ugly look of her own back at Weiss.

Pyrrha had to stop herself from laughing at the way the two bickered like children most of the time. The two of them worked together well enough, and she knew that Weiss appreciated Ruby's presence more than she let on, but of course, Weiss would never admit it, not with her amount of pride. Ruby definitely wasn't entirely adverse to the idea of working with Weiss either, from what Pyrrha had garnered, although the silver haired girl's grating personality probably didn't help matters. Even girls as energetic and amicable as Ruby had their limits, and Weiss definitely pushed her to the absolute brink sometimes.

"Oh, no, I like working with Jaune and the others. I don't mind at all." She replied, choosing the diplomatic answer, deciding that a remark about not having much interest in working with Weiss would go over very well with the heiress. And besides, it was the truth. She genuinely did like working along with Jaune, Ren, and Nora, and she didn't have any intention of switching teams if the option was presented to her.

"Oh, yeah, Ren is pretty talented, isn't here?" Yang remarked as she took a bite from her sandwich.

Blake put down her book and arched an eyebrow, "Are you sure you should be saying that? I'm pretty sure that Nora would kill you if she heard that."

Pyrrha found herself nodding along in agreement, in spite of herself. Nora and Ren were definitely…close, to say the least. Honestly, she had no idea what the exact status of that relationship was, and she had no intention of bringing it up with either of them. On one hand, Nora constantly asserted that the two of them weren't "together together," but then again, the way that the two of them interacted at times made her seriously doubt that was the truth. In reality, the truth was that they were probably somewhere between childhood friends and lovers, but it was hard to think of their relationship as just that when Pyrrha recalled the times that she had seen them fall asleep in each other's arms out on missions. Part of her had almost considered asking Jaune to do the same afterwards, but she ultimately decided against it.

Whatever the case was, their relationship definitely wasn't a normal one, that much was sure.

"Yeah, I guess." Yang said with a shrug of her shoulders. Something told Pyrrha that she wasn't particularly concerned about incurring the wrath of Nora, despite the fact that Weiss and Ruby visibly paled at the thought.

"So, I heard that you guys took out a nest of Beowolves on your last mission?" Ruby asked, desperate to change the current topic.

Pyrrha nodded, "Yeah. I guess it wasn't too hard."

Just then, she remembered something that had been plaguing her thoughts ever since they had returned to Beacon and briefed Professor Ozpin on the results of their mission. Lowering her voice she glanced around to make sure that no one was listening before continuing, "Actually, when we were fighting the Grim, the den mother said something about a Samael. Do you guys have any idea what that could be about?"

Weiss snorted, "Wait a second, a Beowolf talking? That can't be right. They don't have souls, which explains why they can't use auras, and it also prevents them from speaking like humans do. You must have been hearing things."

Well, she did have a point there. The reason that she and Jaune could use their auras was due to the fact that they both possessed souls, something that the creatures of Grim distinctly lacked. Actually, it was due to this distinction that the creatures were even considered as a separate entity from the normal species that existed across the world. But she had distinctly heard the den mother speaking, despite her own surprise at the time. Pyrrha Nikos did not simply hear things, and although it went against all conventional wisdom, she was sure that the Grim had spoken back in that cave.

"But I'm rather inclined to believe the word of someone as level headed as Pyrrha," Blake said, although her own tone indicated some skepticism on her part as well, "Even if what she is suggesting is unusual."

"Look, why don't you tell Ozpin about this? I'm sure he'd be able to help you out more." Yang suggested, chiming in to the assent of all the others at the table.

"Well, I left it out of the initial report because I didn't think that he'd believe it, but I guess you have a point." Pyrrha replied with a nod. It did make sense. Ozpin was the foremost expert on Grim for most of the continent, and it would stand to reason that in all of his years of research and field work, that he would have the most knowledge about such unusual cases.

"There's no harm in asking." Ruby added helpfully, downing a cookie in a single bite. Sometimes, it scared Pyrrha how easily such a small girl ingested such a large amount of food. It couldn't have been healthy.

"I suppose so." Pyrrha said, scarfing down her final bite of pasta and standing up from her seat, with the intention of speaking with a certain coffee drinking headmaster.

* * *

"You know, Ren, I was thinking. Since our plan to make sure that we ended up on the same team worked out so well, we should come up with some other animal calls to use as signals. What do you think of using a walrus for our next one?" Nora asked Ren, who had a slightly exhausted, slightly amused expression on his face. He had been good friends with Nora for several years, and he really did enjoy being around her lively personality, but at the same time, it got tiring after a while. Of course, he would never tell her that because of their friendship. Besides, it wasn't really all that bad to have someone who could virtually carry on a conversation by herself, since he wasn't always in the conversing mood.

"Do you even know what a walrus sounds like?" He asked in his smooth voice, hoping that it would gear the conversation back towards a topic he was more comfortable with. But, as always, he underestimated Nora's abilities to overlook the finer details of her ramblings, and he was met with a shrug.

"Well, no, but that's not important right now. We'll figure out the rest later." Nora answered, completely glazing over the issue. She had a habit of doing such things, as Ren had observed time and time again. She was the type to charge in first and plan later, and it showed in their conversations.

"Come on, let's get to the library. I need some peace and quiet." Ren laughed, bringing an even wider grin to Nora's face as he did so. He hadn't been lying, however. He really did need a break, and even Nora respected the rules of the library, as talkative as she was.

* * *

Jaune sighed. He _had _been rather harsh on Pyrrha, and he knew that she was only trying to help him out. But sometimes it felt as if he was the only one not progressing and holding their team back. Obviously, Ren and Pyrrha were unparalleled fighters, and he had expected that coming in, but to know that even Nora was light years ahead of him…well, it wasn't a good feeling to experience.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sensation of his knee ramming into a hard surface. Wincing in pain, Jaune pulled his knee to his body, cradling the poor appendage with his arms as he stared up at the statue that proudly stood in front of Beacon Academy. At first glance, it was exactly the kind of work that anyone would expect to see at a training academy. It displayed two figures, a Huntsman and a Huntress, along with their quarry, a Beowolf. However, upon closer inspection, one could notice a distinct sword in the Huntsman's hands, one that Jaune knew all too well about, as it was currently sheathed at his side.

"Grandpa, I know that I'm never going to be as good as you, so why am I even here?" He asked the statue, receiving silence in reply. Of course, he didn't expect the statues to suddenly come to life and tell him that he was wrong or something, but he would have really appreciated something like that happening.

"Geez, I must be going crazy if I'm desperate enough to talk to you." Jaune muttered, deciding to take a seat on the base of the statue. He gently ran a finger across the beautifully crafted mineral that made up the base. It was smooth and cool to the touch, and surprisingly, he felt some of his desperation easing as he lost himself in the sensation.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha called out, noticing the blond's presence at the front of Beacon Academy, where had just so been passing by on her way to go speak to Professor Ozpin. She had originally intended to leave him be, however, noticing the way that Jaune had still seemed extremely distressed and hearing his words, she had decided that stopping would be the best decision.

"Pyrrha!" He exclaimed, standing up in surprise at the startling appearance of his partner. Suddenly feeling a bit guilty at his earlier outburst, he scratched the back of his awkwardly, "Hey look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't really mean it, you know?"

Pyrrha smiled. It was at times like this that she was reminded of exactly why Jaune was so charming. He wasn't afraid to deliver an apology where it was due, unlike most of the men she had met before in her life. It took real character to admit when he had made a mistake, and she appreciated that aspect of his personality.

"I understand. It's not your fault." She replied, which was the truth. She didn't blame him in the slightest for reacting the way he had earlier.

"Well, it kind of is…" Jaune whispered.

"Look, don't worry about it." Pyrrha reassured him, patting him on the back forcefully, "We've got more important things to think about."

"Like what?" Janue asked, confused as to exactly what Pyrrha was talking about.

She grabbed his hood and pulled up, forcing him to his feet, "Come on, I'll explain on the way to Ozpin's office."

* * *

**So, I saw the episode of RWBY last week, and I have to say that I'm fascinated by auras, and the fact that Jaune supposedly has a lot of the energy required for maintaining one. I think that it's safe to say that Monty intends for him to become a badass, and that will be reflected in my story, as long as it doesn't get too ridiculous. Also, is it just me, or does it seem like Pyrrha tried to like connect herself spiritually with Jaune by unlocking his aura with her own? I guess we won't know until later on, but a part of me finds it plausible. As for Ren and Nora, all I can say is...boop.**

**Please, leave any and all thoughts you may have in either a PM or review. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the slow update guys, but I decided to wait until Episode 8 came out to finish this. All I want to say is that I feel really proud of the fact that I guess Team Juniper's name correctly, as well as Nora's weapon, and anyone else who did should give themselves a pat on the back. Anyways, thanks so much for the reviews! They really help me to continue writing this story! Please, enjoy the continuation of The Other Guys.**

* * *

Chapter 3

"So let me get this straight, you think that you heard that Beowolf talk?" Jaune asked incredulously, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Pyrrha pursed her lip, knowing exactly ridiculous her premise sounded. After all, one of the first lessons of biology class was a detailed explanation of the difference between humans and Grim. Obviously, there was a difference in the anatomy of the two races, with the chief difference coming in general muscle tone, as well as the length of appendages. Grim were, in general, much faster, stronger, and just plain bigger than humans. However, another difference that was heavily stressed was the fact that Grim did not possess souls, which did not allow them to use Auras, nor utilize speech. This was the area in which humans possessed an advantage, because they were able to formulate solutions and create plans with the power of speech. And what she was saying now challenged that notion, one that had been held for years upon years. As far as the scientists were concerned, Grim did not have souls and humans did.

"Look, I know it's hard to believe, but I'm sure that I heard it talk." Pyrrha insisted, not really expecting Jaune to change his opinion. She understood why he was reluctant to leave the premise that their world was built upon.

"It's not that I don't believe you, but it's just a little hard to swallow." Jaune replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Pyrrha was taken aback by his answer. Well, she definitely wasn't expecting him to accept her theory so readily, and she was definitely prepared for him to blow her off and leave her without bothering to listen any further. But then again, that's where Jaune was different from most people.

"So you think I'm right?" She asked giddily, glad to know that at least someone was on her side.

Jaune scratched the back of his head, "Well, I trust you Pyrrha, so of course I'm going to believe you."

She smiled softly. Somehow, without even realizing it, he always had a knack of saying the right thing to make her feel better about herself, "Thanks Jaune, that's nice to know."

With that, she pushed the door to Professor Ozpin's office open. It was a rather plain room, all things considered, with a large wooden desk in the middle of the room, paired with an expensive leather chair. The rest of the room was consistent with Beacon Academy's architecture, with a worn look that gave the impression that the office had been in use for many years, which it likely had been since Ozpin began his tenure as Headmaster. It was filled with various artifacts, from shining blades to stoic suits of armor that stared at her and Jaune with dark indifference. And of course, there was a small, Dust-powered coffee machine in one corner, supplied with a large basin of cups for repeated use.

Ozpin himself was busy at his desk, evidently working on some important documents with his quill, taking the calculated and smooth strokes expected of someone of his demeanor. However, as soon as he noticed their presence, he ceased his writing and sat up a bit higher in his chair, dropping his quill to look up at them, "Jaune, Pyrrha, what can I do for you?"

Pyrrha swallowed as she heard his bemused tone. What would he think if she told him that she had lied to him earlier about the mission? Would he be angry? Would he even care? From what she had seen so far of him, it seemed that nothing could ever perturb the placid man, no matter how grave the concern. Despite all circumstances, he was always just standing, taking occasional sips from his mug without a care in the world.

"Professor Ozpin, I have to tell you about something that I left out of my report earlier." Pyrrha spoke, forgetting her earlier fear as she allowed the words to blurt out of her.

"Oh really? Do tell." Ozpin coaxed, calmly taking a swig of still steaming coffee, not even so much as wincing at the scalding liquid. At her side, Jaune quietly whimpered, probably imagining the unpleasant sensation for himself.

"The den mother spoke to us before we engaged it. And it mentioned someone called Samael. Do you think you have any idea of what that's about?" Pyrrha asked, searching for any hint of recognition to pop up in Ozpin's eyes as he heard her explanation. However, there was nothing but the normal flat emotion that he displayed in every other situation.

Ozpin sat back in his chair, crossing his legs to enter a more comfortable position, "Well, I can't say that I recall, but if I were to think of anything that could be of use, then I would check the library first for a book on the mythological origins of the Grim. But of course, that's a strictly hypothetical situation, given that I do not remember anything about such a person."

She blinked once, a bit taken aback at what Ozpin had just told them. Did he know something already about this topic? If so, then why wasn't he just telling them what he knew straight out? What was he playing at with these cryptic hints? The thoughts swirled around in her head, but before she could ask him more, his head was already down, attention back on the stack of documents that he had been working on earlier.

* * *

Ren yawned slightly as he leafed through a page in the novel he was reading at a table in the Beacon Academy library. _The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ was its title, and at its core, it was essentially a novel of two souls grappling for control of one man's body. His current copy had been leant to him by Blake, and its extensive wear showed that it had been read from cover to cover several times by her. He found that they had some surprisingly similar taste in books, among other things, and that they got along fairly well, although he didn't know if being reading companions really counted for much. Most of the time, they would just mind their own business and occasionally trade quips about the books they were reading before returning to them. It wasn't a friendship per se, but it also wasn't animosity.

Beside him sat Nora, who was lazily scanning the pages of a fashion magazine, occasionally pausing on pages that had some products that she was interested in before moving on. She had never been one for books, or for any sedentary activities in general, for that matter. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy them, it was just that it was a tad difficult to sit still for so long. She believed that life had to be lived out in the world, not behind a desk, which was part of the reason she had begun her training as a Huntress. She wanted to live a life filled with excitement, so that when she ultimately had to face her fate, she could do it saying that she had lived a full life. She didn't want regrets, and she was going to make sure that things stayed that way.

Of course, she also didn't want to live her life without being at Ren's side. But that was another matter entirely that had less to do with the big philosophical questions in life.

Her eyes shifted over to watch Ren, who seemed in a state of complete relaxation, a calm smile on his face as he silently devoured page after page of his novel. She wanted to open her mouth and speak to him about anything to break the monotony of sitting in the library, but before she had a chance to do so, the doors of the library slammed open.

"My parents always told me that slamming doors open made me seem manlier." Jaune explained as he strolled in, not caring about the fact that he was disturbing the quiet of the room.

"I think that they were right." Pyrrha agreed with a nod, although in a soft voice, as she was aware of her current location.

Immediately, Nora and Ren set down their respective reading materials at the sight of their teammates. Neither of them knew exactly why Pyrrha and Jaune were currently in the library, as the two frequented the training grounds far more, and they were about to find out.

"Pyrrha, Jaune, what are you doing here?" Nora asked, slightly relieved that she now had an excuse to speak again.

"Professor Ozpin pointed us here after we told him about the Beowolf that spoke." Pyrrha elaborated as she made a beeline for the section of books on mythology, with Jaune following closely behind. Curious, but nonetheless confused, Ren and Nora stood up from their seats and quickly caught up to the red haired girl, who was now stopped at a particular bookcase, running her fingers along the various tomes located there.

"What are you looking for?" Ren asked, taking a look at the bookcase himself in an effort to somehow provide any assistance that Pyrrha might require.

"A book on mythology of the Grim…here!" Pyrrha exclaimed as she found a large book with particularly antiquated text on the spine, identifying as _The Collection of Grim Legends_ in gilded letters that created a more flowery look to the title than most other books in the same section contained.

Nora frowned, "Wait, that book? But most of its claims were debunked by the fact that they were made without conclusive evidence to support them. Most of the so called research within was just theories made by the author, which is why we don't use it for class."

"I know, but Professor Ozpin wanted us to find it. I don't understand why either." Pyrrha muttered as she pulled it out of its space in the bookcase. Scrambling back to the table that Ren and Nora had been sitting at, Pyrrha dropped the heavy book onto the table with a thud. Exchanging a look with the other members present at the table, she flipped open the cover to the title page, which was adorned with an elaborate design that depicted the silhouettes of several known species of the Grim. Without hesitation, Pyrrha turned to the next page, which, to the interest of all gathered at the table, was a wall of text opposite of an illustration of a shadowy figure that was the very epitome of a demonic visage, with glowing red eyes and horrifically shaped wings that protruded from its muscular figure. Despite the fact that it was only a mere illustration, the very sight of it caused a shiver to run down Pyrrha's spine.

"Samael," She read aloud, "Also theorized to be the progenitor of Grim and similar creatures of the darkness. Although his true appearance has been debated and is subject to interpretation due to the fact that he has never actually been sighted by any reliable sources, there is a general consensus that he is not of human origin, and that he is bent on destruction."

"Wait, what?" Jaune said in a shaky voice, not able to hide the fear that was now permeating his words. It was clear that the story had affected him for one reason or another.

Pyrrha continued, "Although it was previously stated that Samael was sighted at one of the last battles of the Great War, it cannot be confirmed as of the writing of this book because there are no surviving witnesses."

"Interested in what you found?"

Pyrrha's blood froze in her veins as she heard a voice suddenly speak up from behind her. As a part of her training, she had learned time and time again that she should not make any sudden movements that would provoke an outright attack, and her hands held steady. Instinctively, she slowly reached for her weapon, but she was stopped by Ren's sudden exclamation of, "Professor Ozpin."

Breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that it was only the headmaster sneaking up on them, Pyrrha allowed her arm to fall limp before she turned to look at the gray haired man, who stood at their table, calmly sipping from his omnipresent mug. The adrenaline that had been previously coursing through her body dissipated, allowing her heartbeat to slow to a normal pace.

"Yes." She nodded, not finding the words needed to articulate the rest of her thoughts. The scare had definitely not done her thinking process any favors.

Ozpin gently set his cup onto the table with a slight clink, "Then I should warn you that you aren't the first team to have stumbled onto this."

At his words, the entire group was subject to a variety of surprised expressions. Ren had a muted frown to his face as he comprehended exactly what was being said, while Nora followed his example with a more public display of unease. Jaune was practically cowering in his seat, and Pyrrha did her best to remain calm, despite the way that her heart dropped at the revelation.

"W-well, the other teams got out okay, right?" Jaune asked hopefully, a desperate plea in his voice.

"No, they all died." Ozpin replied bluntly, not choosing to mince words with his explanation.

"Of course they did." Jaune sighed, disappointed in the answer, but at the same time, not exactly surprised by it. Ozpin did have a knack for laying out the truth, no matter how hard it was to hear for him. Actually, he wouldn't have been surprised to find out that the Professor derived some sort of pleasure from seeing him squirm, but he couldn't be sure.

The older man cleared his throat, gaining Jaune's attention once more, "But you are the first team that has ever heard any Grim speak. The other teams that went in pursuit of the truth were inspired by the book you now hold in your hands, not because of hearing a creature of Grim's words."

"Wait, so does that mean that Samael's trying to reach out to us?" Pyrrha asked, slamming her hands on the table, no longer caring about the dirty looks that the librarian was shooting them. Fortunately, Ren noticed it, and mouthed an apology to the woman, who was appeased for the moment.

Ozpin shook his head, "Unfortunately, I do not know that. But, I do know where you can get more answers." He said, producing a small slip of paper from his pocket and handing it to Jaune.

"Wait, what is this for?" Jaune asked, finding that it was blank except for a small smattering of writing on one side. Taking a closer look, he realized that he was looking at a street address, although for what, he still did not know.

Ozpin ignored his question, "Please, don't disappoint me. I would very much like to see the four of you graduate from Beacon in this lifetime."

And with this, he turned to leave the library. However, just as he got to the exit, he stopped and tilted his head towards them, "I would hurry. The next train leaves Beacon in less than an hour."

* * *

Nora grinned excitedly as she swung her bag full of belongings back and forth, nearly hitting Jaune on several occasions. Of course, she would have preferred to travel by airplane, given that it was a much faster method of transportation, but knowing the way that Jaune handled airsickness, it was probably best for everyone gathered that they stayed on the ground for this trip.

"So, Ren, aren't you excited to head back to Mistral? I mean, we haven't been back in months, and probably everyone misses you, well, I mean, why wouldn't they? You are the perfect student and all that. Wait, do you think that we should call everyone else from school? They probably miss us, since we haven't seen each other in person, but then again, they're probably busy, and we're only going to be in town for a night before we leave. Oh, maybe we should ask them to eat dinner with us! That's a great idea, right? But what restaurant should we choose? We could go to the diner, but we'd probably have too many people to fit inside at once, and I don't know if I want to wait too long to find a place big enough for us all. Oh well, maybe we could just call them next time we come around, and just go eat by ourselves today. But not like it's a date! Unless you want it to be. Do you want it to be? Oh, you're right, what was I saying? That would be totally weird! Unless you want it to be weird, which is okay too. But it's not like I'm saying I want it to be like that! Actually, just forget I even brought it up, because it would just be weird for us to go on a date, since you've known me for basically forever, and I've known you for basically forever. Yeah, it would definitely be weird! Wait, am I starting to ramble?" She finished in one breath, surprising even herself for how long she had talked without pausing.

"Don't worry, it's fine." Ren replied succinctly, not bothering to embellish his answer with any unnecessary words. He had long since learned that trying to do so would only encourage Nora to ramble on longer, and as much as he enjoyed hearing her speak on about some topics, he also enjoyed a break every now and then.

"Jaune, are you all right with us doing this? I'm sorry for dragging us here without even asking you first." Pyrrha asked, noticing the way that Jaune was nervously fiddling with his backpack.

He nodded, "I'm fine, Pyrrha. Like I said, I don't want to be weak anymore, and I know that this probably isn't much, but I want to start being a leader that you guys can say that you're proud to follow."

Pyrrha smiled, "You already are."

"W-what? Stop joking around with me." Jaune stammered, feeling his cheeks heat up at Pyrrha's compliment.

Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm not joking around. Really."

Jaune didn't say anything, allowing Pyrrha to awkwardly retract her hand in defeat. Jaune's opinion of himself was really way too low, and she wished she could show him exactly how important he was to their team, but something held her back.

It was ironic, she supposed. The invincible Pyrrha Nikos who was the nightmare of every creature of Grim alive on the planet and was the idol of every aspiring Huntress in the Mistral region, was getting scared to talk to a boy because of a little crush. Okay, fine, it was a huge crush, but still. The fact was that she was rarely, if ever, reluctant to do anything, and yet, right now, she couldn't even force a sound to come out of her throat.

Nora spun around in a small circle as she felt her impatience growing with every minute that it took the train to arrive. Suddenly she felt her foot catch on the concrete of the train platform and, almost in slow motion, she felt her body hurtling to the rapidly approaching ground. With an equal amount of speed, Ren was instantly beside her, hands wrapping around her body in an attempt to catch her before she hit the ground.

Nora had her eyes closed, bracing for the impact with the concrete, but when several seconds had passed and she no longer felt a sensation of falling, she opened up her eyes to see Ren staring down at her, a concerned look in his eyes. As her senses came to her, and she suddenly realized the compromising position she was in, a blush seared her face and her breath hitched. For the first time in her life, Nora Valkyrie felt as if she had no words to say in that moment.

Strange, because she was the same Nora Valkyrie who had been brushed off as annoying all throughout her years at Sanctum for her ability to talk on and on for hours without respite. She had a gift for the gab, and everyone knew it, especially when coupled with the fact that she was well known as the second strongest girl in school aside from Pyrrha. And yet, here she was, completely silent and at a loss for anything to say. All she could do was to stare into Ren's eyes, observing the way that his chest heaved up and down as his breaths poured out of him, clearly having exerted a lot of effort to get to her in time.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly as Jaune and Pyrrha stared on in surprise.

Still dumbstruck, Nora could do nothing more than to nod in response, allowing Ren to pull her back up to her feet and let go of her body, which suddenly felt very cold without Ren's arms wrapped around it.

"Be more careful." Ren chided softly, a sly smirk on his face that told Nora that he wasn't being too serious. And still, she felt her face turn even redder, if that was even possible, as she nodded.

Pyrrha watched the entire exchange with awe struck expression plastered on her face. Not that she should have been really surprised by the way that Ren had rushed to Nora's aid. She had known that Ren would not allow Nora to get hurt, but still, the way that Nora had been speechless only confirmed Pyrrha's thoughts that Ren had been completely unexpected in the way he had protected her.

For a moment, the idea to follow Nora's lead briefly crossed through Pyrrha's mind.

* * *

**As you can see, my story is starting to veer off in a completely different direction, if Roman's appearance at the end of Episode 8 means anything. Hopefully, this keeps things fresh, and you guys will enjoy the way that the relationships develop in my story as opposed to how they look to play out in the canon. Just wondering, would you guys like to see Ren end up with Nora? I can see them both as lovers and as best friends, so I'm conflicted either way. **

**Please, let me know your thoughts in either a review or PM. Thanks so much for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Episode 9 was pretty darn good, even if Juniper got almost no screentime. Hopefully, we'll see more of them these next few weeks. Beyond that, thanks so much for all of the reviews last week, I really appreciate them!**

* * *

Chapter 4

Jaune laid his head back on the headrest of his seat, allowing his blonde locks to spill over his face as he eased into his chair in the compartment that was being shared by him and his teammates. The train that they were currently riding on was one that ran the entire expanse of the continent on an intricate set of railroad tracks, which meant that they would be traveling for several days before they could reach their destination of Mistral, which was quite a ways from Beacon Academy. Logically, he had decided that it was an excellent time to catch up on some of the sleep that he had been missing.

He glanced across the aisle at the two seated in the seats across from him and Pyrrha, who was sitting on his right, allowing him to take the window seat that he had coveted. Ren and Nora were both already fast asleep, with Nora comfortably resting her head on an unsuspecting Ren's shoulder. Turning his head back towards the window, he allowed his eyes to lazily glean over the sight of Beacon Academy disappearing into the distance, the buildings melting into the foliage of a thick forest that they were now traversing through at a blistering speed.

This was what he had wanted when he had come to Beacon Academy initially, wasn't it? He had wanted to fight the monsters of Grim, and to live up to the name that had carried him so far through life. If it wasn't for his ancestors, he would have likely been lucky to even be in a normal training school, much less the chance he was afforded at Beacon Academy. He still didn't entirely understand how or why he was accepted so easily by Professor Ozpin, and he had no intention of finding out. Knowing that he was here now was enough for him to know. He was blessed with an excellent chance, and he had no intention of blowing it.

Speaking of which, Jaune slipped a hand into his bag, fishing out at a folded sheet of paper. He carefully unfolded and straightened out a map of the Mistral region, with all of the important roadways marked in bright red ink. He had already taken the liberty of starting on a path that could be easily reached from the train station so that they could find their target without having to run through a lot of Grim, which was a constant danger of traveling through the rather inhospitable country. Mistral was the home to many incredibly powerful species that were indigenous to the region alone, and Jaune taken that into account when drawing out a proposed plan.

However, before he could make much headwind, he felt a finger tapping him on the shoulder. Glancing up, he was met with Pyrrha's vivid green eyes, although they were now significantly duller as he could tell that she was on the edge of falling asleep entirely.

"Say, Jaune, do you want to walk around a bit? I'm getting pretty tired." Pyrrha asked, adding a yawn, as if only to emphasize her point.

"Oh, sure." Jaune nodded, noticing his own exhaustion at Pyrrha's words. Deciding that he would have time to deal with it later, he folded up his map and dropped it on his now vacant seat as he followed Pyrrha to the dining car.

Surprisingly not having much trouble keeping his balance aside from the occasional stumble, despite the rickety floor, Jaune strode behind Pyrrha, who was having absolutely no trouble traversing the train car, effortlessly leading Jaune into the empty dining car. It was a larger interior than the normal passenger cars, and was filled with six tables spread out across the length of the car, each one covered in a white tablecloth and pushed up against a window, affording diners a perfect view of the environment outside. Jaune slid into a seat at the nearest table, where Pyrrha had already seated herself and had picked up a menu to peruse.

Jaune watched her for a moment, not feeling hungry enough to pick up a menu himself, "Hey, Pyrrha, do you mind me asking you something?"

"What is it?" She asked, not bothering to look up.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, seemingly reluctant to speak, "Well, I just want to know something. Why do you help me so much? I mean, I don't deserve it in the slightest."

At this, Pyrrha quickly slapped her menu onto the table, "Don't say that about yourself like that, Jaune. You and I know as well as anyone that you're capable of great things. Just one look at your aura can prove that."

"But is all that I'm good for? My aura?" He mumbled under his breath, but just loud enough so that Jaune heard her.

"Of course. You ancestors were all the same, weren't they? And you wanted to be like them, right?" Pyrrha suggested.

From what she knew, Jaune's family was full of warriors that could be best described as tanks, with their exceptional stores of aura serving to allow them to charge forward without any concern of taking damage, making them virtually invincible as long as their aura was shielding them. That invincibility was part of the reason why they had often been the leaders of several key charges during the Great War, and why Pyrrha knew that Jaune could be a great leader.

"Well, what if I don't want it?" Jaune shouted, unexpectedly raising his voice and sending Pyrrha stumbling out of her seat with the force with which he had suddenly used. The two of them sat across from each other in car, Jaune in his chair with his chest heaving vigorously and Pyrrha sprawled out on the floor, not moving a muscle, with a heavy silence falling between them that was only periodically punctuated by the rattling of wheels.

"Do you?" Pyrrha whispered, almost fearful to speak to the more frightening Jaune.

"I…I'm not sure." He sighed, sitting back in his chair and running a hand through his hair. He was so confused by it all. For his entire life, he had been pushed to become another member of the famous Arc line, a family tree that was defined by greatness that he frankly, wasn't sure that he could achieve. He had been taught that failing was not in the vocabulary of the Arc family, and yet, here he was at Beacon, miserably failing at almost anything he did. He wanted to believe so badly that he was meant to do great things, but it was hard to keep believing that when he hadn't seen any hint of that happening. Why did things have to be so hard? When he was a kid, it was just a foregone conclusion that he would be a Huntsman, and he grew up thinking that he was going to be some sort of hero when in reality, he was struggling to become a sidekick.

"I…I don't know what I want." Jaune admitted, slumping even farther into his seat. He stared harshly into the ground, hearing his thoughts swirl around in his head. He bit his lip, knowing that his earlier outburst had been wrong, and that the right thing to do would be to apologize. Shamefully, he lifted his head and opened his mouth when the words refused to come out of his mouth at the sight that unfolded before him.

In slow motion he watched as half the cabin was torn away, with the horrible screeching of twisted metal filling the air and causing him to clasp his hands tightly over his ears in an effort to stem the cacophony that was making his ears bleed in pain. He knew instantly from the way that half of the car was cut through like butter that they were dealing with a creature of Grim, and more specifically, a Nevermore.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted, instantly springing into action by tipping over their table to act as a crude form of cover, which was admittedly useless against the strength of a full grown Nevermore. The avian creature screamed, forcing both of them to duck down underneath their cover once more in an attempt to protect themselves.

But it was all for naught as Jaune suddenly felt his stomach lurch as they suddenly felt a violent jolt followed by a sensation of weightlessness that made Jaune realize that they were likely just launched off of the tracks. He swiveled his head to peer out of the window, seeing the world rapidly cycle around them, confirming his fear.

"Jaune, use your aura! That's the only way we'll survive!" Pyrrha cried out over the chaos, reaching out a hand, which Jaune grabbed hold of tightly, refusing to let go. With this, he felt a familiar sensation of warmth wash over his body as his aura expanded to each limb, filling his veins with a sense of security and solidarity that was comforting to him, even in this situation. However, far too late, he realized that the feeling was distinctly foreign to him, unlike the familiar sensation that he normally experienced, which could only mean one thing.

His eyes widened in shock as he realized that the aura surrounding him was not his own, "Pyrrha, wait, you didn't…"

Before he had a chance to finish his sentence, Jaune felt an abrupt stop that sent him into a world of darkness.

* * *

"Wake up."

Jaune stirred slightly at the words, but did not open his eyes.

"Wake up." The voice repeated, more forcefully this time.

Once more, Jaune stirred slightly more, although again, he did not wake, merely shifting in his unconsciousness.

"Wake up!" The voice shouted, and almost instantly, Jaune was ripped out of his sleep by a forceful grip that almost seared his skin with its intense heat. He blinked once, unable to see anything before he remembered his situation. Frantically, he whipped his head in all directions, his eyes adjusting to the blackness to recognize the decimated interior of the dining car he had been sitting in just moments ago. The whole room was on its side, with the tables and chairs splintered off in all directions, with a layer of dust and dirt settling over everything in sight and making him hack in pain, spitting a small amount of blood.

"Glad to see that you're awake." The ethereal voice said calmly, despite the situation, and Jaune's eyes widened as he realized that he was now sitting in front of a tall man dressed in flowing white robes and wielding a magnificent golden sword, emitting a heavenly aura with his mere stature, which seemed otherworldly. He had a stern expression on his face that made Jaune shrink in fear, although the man did not seem to have any malicious intent.

"W-who are you?" Jaune asked fearfully, convinced that the man was going to plunge his sword into him at any moment.

"You can call me many things. You can call me Archangel, or St. Michael. But right now, you should call me your savior, because I am here to help you." The man replied in a booming tone that made Jaune shiver.

"Why me? Why does anything ever happen to me?" Jaune demanded, incredibly confused by his current situation.

St. Michael crossed his arms in impatience, or perhaps annoyance at his questions, "You have been chosen as a key part of the Second Great War, and as with your ancestors, you are meant to lead humanity. Did you honestly think that they achieved victory without any sort of divine intervention?"

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked, starting to put the pieces together in his mind.

"Put it this way. You weren't the only scared and confused teenager that history has ever seen." St Michael replied, no amount of humor in his voice, only serving to heighten his presence.

Jaune knew that something out of the ordinary was going on, and pressed on, "Then what are you going to do to me?"

"I am going to light a path for you to follow, so that you may truly reach your destiny." St. Michael said, turning and, with a mighty swing of his sword, cleaving a large hole in the wreckage of the train, just large enough for someone to fit through. As the light was allowed to illuminate the tattered room, Jaune withheld a gasp at the sight of Pyrrha.

She was lying face down, a large gash running the length of her back and appendages twisted in every which way. If it wasn't for the faint sounds of breathing that she emitted every few seconds, Jaune would have assumed that she was dead. It seemed so crazy to know that the strongest person he knew was so helpless in that moment, and yet, here was the reality of the situation, staring him right in the face.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune screamed, diving forward to check her pulse, which was distant and fading quickly. He had to get her out of there, and fast.

"She's still alive right now, but the same can't be said for her if you go outside without dealing with the Nevermore first." St. Michael chimed in from behind Jaune.

"What are you saying?" Jaune whimpered as his hands felt the stickiness of blood on Pyrrha's neck. The sensation made him almost want to vomit in a combination of disgust and shock, but he managed to keep himself composed by the slimmest of margins.

"You're going to have to kill the Grim out there." St. Michael stated, as if it were obvious.

"But I can't!" Jaune retorted, feeling his hands shake violently with nervous energy. There was absolutely no way that he would even be able to hold a sword, much less go out and kill one of the most powerful species of Grim in existence. There was just no way!

"Yes, you can! Trust me, I will lead the way." St. Michael insisted, throwing his sword onto the ground violently, "Pick up my sword and use it to cut a path to freedom!"

Absolutely frightened, Jaune merely stood in place as his words came to his mind. Didn't he say that he wanted to become a leader that Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren would be proud to follow? This was his chance to prove it to them and to himself that he was capable of such a thing, and now he was going to throw it away? No, he only had one clear choice in front of him, and it did not involve running away. He had already run away too many times in his life before.

Reluctantly, Jaune wrapped his fingers around the handle of the blade, finding that it was much lighter than it had initially seemed, and that he had no trouble picking it up with one hand. The sword felt natural being in his hands, and instantly, he felt supreme confidence in it. With such a weapon, he could not lose, or, at least, that's how holding it in his hands made him feel.

"That is the Sword of the Destroyer. Use it well." St. Michael advised before he stepped out of the way, allowing Jaune to walk past him and out of the wreckage.

"Jaune!" Ren and Nora yelled collectively as he exited the destroyed train, twirling the sword around in his hands once as he surveyed the terrain. They were at a cliff face, with the wreckage of the train boxing them in from behind. Either way, they were trapped, with no environmental features to really take advantage of.

"Are you two okay?" Jaune asked, noticing that they were both relatively unscathed.

"We noticed what was going on and used our auras to shield ourselves from most of the damage that the train took, but we got hit with a few scratches on the way. Overall, we're in pretty good shape." Ren reported, with Nora nodding along in agreement.

"Pyrrha is injured." Jaune informed the two, whose eyes widened in surprise, "So we have to end this fight quickly and get her medical help."

Before anyone had a chance to respond, they were interrupted by the bloodcurdling scream that informed them that the Nevermore was swooping in for another attack.

"Get to cover!" Ren yelled, grabbing Nora by the arm and running out of the way while Jaune merely stood his ground, unwilling to back down.

Once more, the Grim cawed in a mixture of anger and confusion, not understanding why a mere human would have the audacity to stand in front of its attack. Meanwhile, Jaune dug his back foot into the ground, preparing himself for a powerful impact.

"Jaune, what are you doing?" Nora screamed from her position, knowing that she was too far away to realistically provide any assistance to their leader, who seemed to be putting himself in mortal danger.

"Don't worry." Jaune replied under his breath as he pushed off of his foot, actually running towards the Nevermore, instead of away from it.

As the monster extended its claws in an attempt to impale him, Jaune suddenly dropped to the floor, forcing the Grim to miss, and instead, stab its talons deep into the earth, trapping it on the ground for the time being. Not wasting his opportunity, Jaune got to his feet and leapt up into the air, stabbing downwards with his sword, driving the golden blade deep into the Nevermore's back and causing the monster to screech in pain and begin thrashing around wildly in an attempt to rid itself of its attacker.

However, Jaune held firm with his grip, refusing to let go even as the Nevermore freed itself with one powerful shake of its claws and shot up into the air, Jaune in tow. Feeling the wind whip his face, Jaune struggled to keep his grip, but was undeterred from reaching his goal. By sheer willpower, he kept himself hugged tightly to his sword handle as it began to wiggle loose. Realizing that he was close to being thrown off, Jaune took the opportunity to reach for his regular sword as well and cut at the exposed flesh of the Nevermore's back, sending feathers and blood splattering in all directions as the creature stumbled in mid air at the sudden attack, starting to lose altitude.

Continuing with the assault, Jaune held tight to the Sword of the Destroyer with his left hand with his right relentlessly assaulted any weaknesses that the Nevermore may have possessed with his regular sword, which was a sharp blade in its own right. After a short period, he could feel the Nevermore starting to buckle under his weight, only to stop flapping its wings entirely and allowing both of them to hurtle towards the ground. Knowing that he had the Grim basically at his whim with the blade he had stabbed into its back, he violently rotated his sword, essentially steering the helpless creature as it crashed into the ground, taking the brunt force of the impact, although hitting the solid earth did send jolts through Jaune's body, almost causing him to fall off as the Nevermore slid across the ground before slamming into the wreckage of the train, dead.

With and exhausted gasp, Jaune ripped his sword out from the deceased creature, feeling his legs turn to jelly and allowing him to collapse forward, tumbling to the ground, where an amazed Nora and Ren rushed to his aid.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Ren asked, propping up the limp blonde on his shoulder.

Jaune swallowed deeply before he shoved away Ren and fell to his knees, unable to hold in the contents of his stomach as a combination of his airsickness and disgust over the mangled corpse of the Nevermore sent his system into disarray.

"Gross." Nora gagged, turning so that she wouldn't have to see the pitiful sight of Jaune huddled over on the ground.

"Help Pyrrha. She's in the dining car." Jaune managed before another violent convulsion wracked his body.

"Good job." St. Michael chuckled, actually showing a bit of enjoyment on his normally stoic face.

"Was it really?" Jaune asked skeptically, shivering as he held back an urge to empty his stomach once more. He looked around to see that Ren and Nora were rushing off towards the wreckage to find Pyrrha, seemingly oblivious to presence of a fourth figure. Was this St. Michael somehow invisible to everyone else but him?

The heavenly being grinned in a way that seemed to go beyond just normal pleasure, "Oh, believe me, you're on the right path. There's no doubt about it."

* * *

**Just so you guys know, St. Michael was one of the beings that Joan of Arc claimed to have seen in her visions. Obviously, we won't ever know if that was actually the case, but I certainly found it an interesting part of her story, and I wanted to incorporate the whole Joan of Arc story into Jaune's development, to a certain extent. Now, I won't give anything away, but all I will say is that things are never as they seem, and that is especially true for St. Michael. **

**Anyways, if you guys have any additional thoughts, please leave them in a review or PM. Thanks for reading!**


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